Familiar Ground Find Your Anchor
by Luci-Marlena
Summary: SPOILERS FOR NEXT EPISODE. READ AT OWN RISK. "How do you control it?""Find an anchor," sensing Isaac's next question, Derek continues, "Something meaningful to you; bind yourself to it and keep to your human side and in control." He knows the boy's next question before he even asks it, "What is it for you?"


AN: I don't own Teen Wolf.

_Familiar Ground (Find Your Anchor)_

It's the full moon.

Usually he's locked himself away from everyone and would just wait the night out.

But not tonight. Tonight, he has three new pups to take care of, and to make sure don't murder the entire town of Beacon Hills. By himself. Without any idea of how to calm them down.

No pressure.

He's finished locking Erica and Boyd up, all he has left is Isaac.

The boy seems in control, and Derek is impressed. He's not growling or wolfing out like the other two are beginning to. Isaac is in control, albeit a very tenuos hold on his primal side, but a hold none the less.

He's chaining the boy to the chair when Isaac grits through his teeth, "How do you not feel this?"

Derek wants to laugh. He won't, but he wants to. He feels every second of the pull of the moon; how it's been calling his wolf to come to the surface ever since he was a young boy, the pull getting stronger every year as he grew into his wolf. In fact, he feels it worse than all of these pups put together. But he won't tell Isaac that. These first few moons will be especially painful for all of them, and will continue to be until they gain control.

Tightening the straps attaching Isaac to the legs of the chair, Derek snaps, "I feel every _second_ of it."

Almost immediately after the words left his lips, Isaac asks, "Then how do you control it?"

Isaac really is his favourite wolf. The boy is so eager to learn, to please and follow direction. He's the most competant beta he has, and Derek admires the boy's ability to persevere even after what his father did to him.

"Find an anchor," sensing Isaac's next question, Derek continues, "Something meaningful to you; bind yourself to it and keep to your human side and in control."

He knows the boy's next question before he even asks it, "What is it for you?"

Derek pauses, looks away before he answers.

He knows what it is, what it's always been.

Anger.

Anger for everything.

For Kate using him and killing his family.

For being blind enough not to see through Kate and her plans.

For being the one who killed his family.

For not being there for Laura when she really needed it.

For finding the one person who is his anchor and fucking it up. Royally.

When he first saw the boy, it was so soon after he found Laura and his hold on his wolf was weak. He just wanted to rage; let the wolf out and destroy everything around him. How could have he been so careless as to let his sister wander back into the place where their family was hunted down and killed like animals.

And then he heard two kids running around on Hale property, well, _his_ property.

They needed to go. Immediately.

These two idiots needed to go before his hold snapped and the wolf came out and tore at the trespassers like they were the cowards who killed his sister; the only real family he had left.

He walked over to them, prepared to intimidate them into leaving, and then he caught the scent. _His_ scent. His anchor.

The scent immediately calmed his raging wolf and Derek was pissed.

How could this boy, the Sherrif's boy no less, be the one to calm him? He talks far too much and has a weird smell lining his natural scent, polluting it with some sort of antibacterial type of smell.

Great, his anchor's on drugs.

But that's not all the boy smells like; he smells like worn cotton, laundry detergant, cookies, books, mint toothpaste, and _home_. The boy smells so comforting, so much like his old house that it makes Derek was to rip him apart, to tear him up for reminding him of what he lost.

So he tells the idiots to get off his land and tosses the new pup his inhaler.

And that's when it started.

Derek brings himself back to the present and answers Isaac, "Anger." Feeling the boy's eyes on him, he rushes, "It doesn't have to be that for everybody."

Isaac quirks an eyebrow, "You mean Scott?"

He continues to secure the beta to the chair, "Yeah."

Scott.

Scott McCall, a boy who didn't ask for the bite and got it anyway. Who didn't know what an anchor was but found it anyway. In the Argent girl.

And while Derek doesn't trust the Argents (any of them; especially the girl), he envies Scott and his relationship with Allison. Scott's anchor didn't reject him, doesn't question his motives, wish him to die, resent him, or ask _someone to shoot him in the head _with an arrow.

No, of course not.

Because he's _Scott_.

And because Derek is Derek he gets the short end of the stick.

Again.

Which basically means that his anchor would be the most obnoxious person possible who would not only fight him about _everything_, but would radiate dislike whenever the boy is around him.

Perfect.

That's just what he needs when his instincts tell him to run to Stiles, that Stiles will take care of him when he's shot with a wolfsbane bullet. Wrong. Instead, he wants to leave Derek dead by the side of the road as he drives home and spends the night hopped up on Adderall and looks up everything from werewolves to chia pets.

Stiles is the _perfect_ anchor when he _hesitates _between choosing his phone or saving a paralyzed Derek who is slowly sinking to the _bottom of the pool_. This, of course, is after Derek tries to save Stiles by telling him to run. When he doesn't listen, Derek turns his back on the kanima (stupid move) and pushes Stiles out of danger. Clearly, trying to get the boy to safety was a stupid idea as he never listens.

It's clear that Stiles doesn't trust him, and that affects his trust in Stiles.

Who wants an anchor who that doesn't give a crap about him?

No one.

Derek's personal favourite moment, though, had to be when Stiles tried to get the Argent girl to shoot him in the head.

Ah, good times.

Derek doesn't understand why all this crap has to happen to _him._

Why does everything for him always have to hurt?

Why does everyone he love not love him back or always leave?

Why does his anchor have to hate him?

He thought that when you found your anchor you were supposed to feel calmer, more in control and at peace with your wolf. Lately, all he's been feeling is anger and frustration.

But what did he expect, he's him. Nothing good ever happens to him.

And even if something did, there's always a catch (like finding his anchor; the one person in the world that could bring out his humanity treats him like a monster).

"Right, that should do it," he pulls on the chains to test their strength only to have the hook he latched it on to break.

Isaac looks at him with wide, worried eyes.

Derek holds in a sigh.

Nothing ever goes his way.


End file.
